Chapter 61: Regretting Deeply

Volume 1: First Entry Into Another World

Plum Blossom Seven felt a chill run through him, as if a single wrong word would freeze him into an ice sculpture. He quickly waved for his subordinates to retreat, then said with an ingratiating smile, "Miss Chu, you jest. How could we possibly dare to lay a hand on you? It was those people who lacked judgment."

"Then why are you blocking our way, and what about those fifty thousand silver taels?" Seeing that the danger had passed, Zu An jumped out again.

Upon seeing his smug expression, Plum Blossom Seven felt a pang of annoyance. He finally understood what Plum Blossom Thirteen must have felt. This fellow was truly despicable, always bouncing around and acting arrogant, relying on others' power.

"Our Silver Hook Casino is known for its reputation. How could we not pay? Someone, bring the young master his banknotes." Plum Blossom Seven was clearly displeased but still had to force a smile. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Plum Blossom Seven's Rage +344!

Fifty thousand taels of silver ingots would be too heavy and inconvenient to carry, so for large transactions, banknotes were typically used.

Plum Blossom Seven took the banknotes from his subordinate and handed them over. "Young master, please keep them safe." Although losing fifty thousand taels of silver was painful, Silver Hook Casino could afford it by biting the bullet. If their reputation was ruined, everything would be lost.

Seeing Zu An take the banknotes and count them one by one, Plum Blossom Seven's face darkened. "Young Master Zu, are you perhaps doubting that we gave you the correct amount?"

"That's right, you never know. It's better to count carefully," Zu An said, handing half of them to Chu Chuyan. "My dear, help me count."

Chu Chuyan turned away, clearly not wanting to touch the "dirty money" from the casino.

Hearing Zu An's reply, all the casino staff members' faces darkened. They thought, *This guy's money-counting demeanor makes me want to punch him.*

Zu An noticed another string of rage points appearing in his backend system. Although no single person contributed much, the Plum Blossom Gang had many members, resulting in thousands of rage points.

"Young master, have you finished counting?" Plum Blossom Seven asked, suppressing his anger.

"Oh, dear, I was counting perfectly, but then you interrupted me and I forgot again," Zu An said in an exaggerated manner, then started counting from the beginning.

Plum Blossom Seven: "..."

*Where's my knife?!*

Plum Blossom Seven's Rage +800!

Zu An counted again, then said with lingering satisfaction, "Counting money really feels great."

Plum Blossom Seven's heart was bleeding. *That's our money, damn it!* Yet, being deeply cunning, he maintained a pleasant expression. "Young master, are you planning to leave now?"

Zu An tilted his head, staring at him with a half-smile. "Are you really trying to stop us? My dear..."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Seeing him constantly bring up Miss Chu, Plum Blossom Seven cursed inwardly and quickly waved his hands. "Young master, please don't misunderstand. I just think you're having such good luck today, it would be a shame not to play a few more rounds and win more money."

Hearing his words, Chu Chuyan frowned. It was clear the casino was unwilling to let Zu An leave after winning and wanted to keep him playing a few more times to win back what he had gained.

The ploy was too obvious. She didn't even bother to warn Zu An, thinking anyone would see through it and refuse.

To her surprise, Zu An readily agreed. "I also think my luck is especially good today. Since you're sincerely inviting me to win more money, it would be rude of me to just leave. All right, I'll play a few more rounds!"

"This way, young master, please!" Plum Blossom Seven was overjoyed. He had truly feared the other party would just leave. Now that he had stayed, not only would he make him spit out all his previous "lucky" winnings, but he would also ensure he ended up in debt, proving his skill.

Chu Chuyan watched Zu An swagger back to the gambling table, her hands tightening in her sleeves. *This guy knowingly walks into a trap like an idiot. No wonder everyone in the city used to look at him that way.*

Chu Chuyan's Rage +233!

Her expression completely darkened. She had initially started to see him in a new light because of earlier events, but now she realized he was still the same familiar good-for-nothing. *It seems I was overthinking things.*

With that thought, she became indifferent and followed him unhurriedly, without the slightest emotional ripple.

Because of the previous lesson, Plum Blossom Seven no longer trusted his subordinates to operate and decided to take over himself.

"Oh, you're doing it yourself now? Are you afraid of losing again?" Zu An said teasingly.

Plum Blossom Seven's breath hitched. He forced a smile and said, "How could that be? This fellow's mentality isn't good; his hands are shaking so much he can't roll the dice. Young master, you needn't worry. Your luck is good; I'm sure you'll win."

He sneered inwardly. *Luck? Anyone who comes to a casino relying on luck ends up losing their wives and daughters to brothels.*

"I think your mouth must be blessed," Zu An chuckled in return. "I'll take your good wishes. Let's begin."

Plum Blossom Seven cautiously asked, "How much are you planning to bet this time, young master?"

Zu An waved his hand. "Of course, I'm going all in! How else would it suit my style?"

Chu Chuyan's delicate brows furrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything to stop him. The surrounding gamblers secretly shook their heads. Over the years, they had seen too many people like this: winning a little money and getting overly confident, only to lose it all back to the casino before it even got warm in their hands.

Most gamblers harbored a mentality of not wanting others to do well. They watched the table with an eagerness for entertainment, just waiting for the opponent to lose all his money in the next round.

Plum Blossom Seven was overjoyed. "Young master, you're truly generous and straightforward!" He had been worried the opponent would bet little by little, and what if he stopped playing before losing all fifty thousand taels? That would be a tragedy!

Now, with an all-in bet, the outcome would be decided in one round, and he could finally report back to the gang leader.

Zu An suddenly said, "You're not planning to cheat, are you?"

Plum Blossom Seven's breath hitched. He quickly explained, "How could I dare to cheat in front of so many gambling masters? Moreover, Miss Chu is watching. If I made any small moves, I definitely couldn't hide them from her eyes."

As the saying goes, "nine out of ten gamblers lose." As the house, he didn't need to cheat to win. Some people believed that if you bet on both 'big' and 'small' simultaneously, no matter how many rounds you played, you'd break even.

In reality, that was impossible because many rolls resulted in the house winning outright, such as a 'leopard' (three of a kind). Therefore, when gambling against the house, even if you won a round or two occasionally, playing multiple times inevitably led to losing.

Zu An nodded. "Alright, then go ahead and roll."

Plum Blossom Seven sneered inwardly. His hands quickly began to shake the dice cup, leaving behind a blur of afterimages and drawing exclamations from the crowd.

He couldn't help but feel a bit smug. Among the gang leader's adopted sons, his cultivation wasn't high, yet he held this position because of his gambling skills, because of his "ghost hands."

He could roll any number he wanted.

So, he decided to roll a 'leopard' this time, winning all bets on big or small. At that point, whether Zu An bet on big, small, or even the sum of the dice, he would lose.

Halfway through shaking, he suddenly hesitated. *This guy went all in. What if he actually gets incredibly lucky and wins?*

At odds of one to one hundred and fifty, losing would mean seven and a half million taels—even if the entire Plum Blossom Gang was sold, they wouldn't have that much money.

But then he reconsidered: *How could he possibly guess it? Even with a 'leopard,' there are six possibilities. Even if he intended to bet on a 'leopard,' it's only a one-in-six chance.*

*What am I afraid of?*

He chuckled at himself, then placed the dice cup face down on the table, looking at Zu An with a smile. "Young master, please place your bet."

His eyes seemed to say, "Come, bring your money. Bring your money."

Zu An was not in a hurry; instead, he looked at Chu Chuyan.

Chu Chuyan said calmly, "Don't worry, he's not cheating." With her fifth-grade cultivation, and the opponent barely at second-grade, how could any small trick escape her notice, given the three-grade difference in power?

Zu An, however, shook his head. "I wasn't asking about that. Do you have any copper coins on you?"

"Copper coins? What do you want them for?" Chu Chuyan was puzzled. She took one out from her pocket. As she usually managed the Chu family's business affairs, she carried some loose change.

"Lend it to me," Zu An said, taking the coin and bringing it close to her lips. "Help me blow on it."

Chu Chuyan's expression turned cold. "Don't be ridiculous!"

Zu An chuckled. "Just help me out. With your celestial breath, I guarantee I'll win."

"Blow! Blow! Blow!"

The onlookers, eager for chaos, all started to jeer.

Seeing everyone watching her, Chu Chuyan found herself in a difficult position and could only blow gently on the coin. A faint blush appeared on her jade-like cheeks. *I'll settle this with him later, once we're out of here,* she thought.

Feeling a gentle breeze on his fingertips, Zu An laughed. "Alright, with my wife's celestial breath, I guarantee we'll win this time. I'll bet wherever the coin lands."

After saying that, he tossed the copper coin into the air. As it landed on the gambling table and rolled around, everyone watched intently, even Chu Chuyan couldn't help but pay close attention.

She had originally intended to simply watch the show, but Zu An's request for her to blow on the coin and his claim to bet based on where it landed had subtly drawn her into the game.

For who knows how many years, her heart had been as still as an ancient well, but now, for the first time, it began to race slightly. She wanted to know the outcome of this bet more than ever before.

The copper coin rolled along until it hit the edge of the table, bounced back a short distance, and then came to rest inside the box for "three ones" (a specific dice combination).

Zu An laughed heartily and immediately placed all fifty thousand taels of banknotes he held onto that spot. "Since it's fate, I'm betting everything on this!"

"Open! Open! Open!"

All the surrounding gamblers wanted to know the outcome. Of course, they most wanted to see Zu An lose everything. *He even had the nerve to flirt in the middle of this; this guy is absolutely detestable!*

Plum Blossom Seven's face drastically changed. *How is this possible?!*

In that instant, his vision went blank. The noisy sounds around him seemed to lose all meaning. He could only see everyone's contorted faces, their mouths opening and closing as if speaking, but he couldn't hear a single word.

"Huh?"

Seeing the casino delay in opening the dice cup, the surrounding gamblers suddenly realized something was wrong. *Could this kid really have gotten incredibly lucky and guessed it right?*

"Plum Blossom Seven, why aren't you opening it yet?"

"Yeah, open it quickly!"